


Idle Conversation

by KarkatHorns



Series: Night Terrors on the SS Starblaster [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: I wrote this at 1am, IPRE, Not Beta Read, Other, Team as Family, just a fun conversation, just me playing with dialogue, nothing crazy goes on in this fic, please be patient with me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 09:10:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13923969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarkatHorns/pseuds/KarkatHorns
Summary: Davenport asks the crew about any habits they should know about before they leave on their starry ship. The twins take it easy. Magnus wishes he could bring a dog. Merle worries about plants. Lucreta's just beginning her story. Barry's allergic to Peanut Butter.





	Idle Conversation

**Author's Note:**

> Contact me on Tumblr! My art blog is ze-zir.tumblr.com and my TAZ blog/artblog is tazblogger.tumblr.com! 

It’s a day or two before the seven members of the IPRE were to leave on the SS Starblaster. In doing so, the group was meeting in a conference room, meant for more of a civilized discussion. It’s not the first time the seven of them had talked, and they had plenty of conversions during the scouting for the Starblaster crew. With an engine that runs on bonds, the match between each and every person on the ship had to match a quota, with there being a balance of personalities and knowledge so that the crew would be secure in it’s mission, while also maintaining trust and preventing as much fighting as possible.

It’s been a few months, but it’s been only two and a half weeks after the six crew were chosen, with Captain Davenport being the known lead since the early development of the project. And so, the seven of them settled into their seats for the meeting to begin.

At the beginning of the meeting, there were several IPRE personnel still in the room. The twins had sat side by side, appearing professional and giving no indication that they were going to talk or start any trouble. However, the second the room was clear, it was like a wave of tension left the room by storm. Lup leans back all the way in her chair, putting her feet on the table and lounging back. She takes out some gum and passes a piece to her brother, though she doesn’t grab one for herself. Taako, as mentioned, climbs out of his chair entirely and sits on the table itself, next to where Lup's boots are resting. He sits back and puts a high heel on the armrest of her chair, leaving the other on the table so he can droop a lazy arm over his knee and rest comfortably.

At that, Magnus leans in along the table, resting his head on his hand with his elbow on the table. Bits of his sideburns poke out from between his fingers, which Barry seems to be baffled by the appearance of. Lucretia seems like she isn’t entirely sure what to do with her hands, crossing them, pausing, and imitating Magnus for a moment before realizing that it was a little too obvious. She shifts her hands down to her lap, looking down before shifting her gaze to the others. She’s quiet, but a keen observer, and this journey needed her eyes.

Barry Bluejeans leans against the table, and Merle stands so that he can see the others a little better with his shorter height. Captain Davenport seems comfortable exactly how he is, so he doesn’t move from his original position at the very end of the long table. He clears his throat, and all eyes shift on him, albeit some rather lazily.

“Hello, everyone. As you all know, tomorrow is the day we leave on the S. S. Starblaster to research more about the other planes of existence. While we already know a lot about the mission at hand, there are still smaller things to work out before we stay together. Everything we share in this room is private between us, of course, and I ask that you not share anything said in this room. We’re here to discuss eating preferences, any lifestyle choices, sleeping patterns, and other living habits so that we don’t have any trouble during the mission. We- oh, yes Lup?”  
Lup, mid sentence, had cleared her throat. “Excuse me, not to seem rude, but isn’t it kind of late to be talking about something like this? I mean, I get what we’re doing here, but this is the day before the trip. Shouldn’t we have talked about this like, a whole week ago or something?”

Merle seems to think about this. Barry just nods in agreement. Lucretia sits back, observing and quiet. Taako has a shit eating grin on his face, not moving from where he’s lounging on the table. Merle is sitting behind him and seems to be having a bit of trouble actually looking over at Davenport, and Magnus, noticing this, gestures for them to go and switch seats. They do, and the movement draws attention away from the meeting at hand.

The Captain replies while the seat exchange is happening. “Well, Lup, you’re correct about that. The plans for the ship and mission took priority over smaller things like living habits. The IPRE was concerned about the Bond Engine and other aspects of the mission, especially funding, and yesterday they were trying to ensure that the press release was being publicized as much as possible. I was the one to bring it up, and they agreed for us to have this conversation now, in case there are any extenuating circumstances,” he explains.

Mangus raises his hand. Davenport looks at him. “Again, there is no way to bring pets of any kind, including dogs, on this mission,” he specifies, wording everything carefully. Magnus lowers his hand.

Barry, unsure if he should end the first to start, scoots his chair in slightly. “Uh, well, I kind of like my room being super warm. I get that we all have our own rooms with their own heating, but the living room spaces have their own thermostats too. If those were kept on high, that would be great,” he advises.

Merle beams at that. “I second Barty-“ “It’s Barry.” “-Berry on that one. I have a lot of plants that I want to take care of, and a lot of them need the heat and all. If anybody is going to lower the heat in the room, at least tell me first to I can move some of the plants around. Don’t want them dying and all that, though I could probably make them better again with a prayer or two to Pan,” he offers. He’s sincere about it, though Taako seems a little skeptical.

Magnus replies to him. “I don’t really care if it’s super hot or cold in a room. I just prefer it not being an extreme of either. More cozy, y'know? Or change it up sometimes. Keep it interesting,” he offers. Taako scoffs, finding the need to comment.

“Or you could just, y'know, use magic. And change it. It’s not exactly rocket science,” Taaco replies. “If you don’t like the temperature, just change it. Whoever was in there first gets dibs. If you’re sleeping, it doesn’t count,” he replies. There’s a moment to process this. Really, it’s a simpler rule that does make sense.

Lucretia's voice is small, but present in the quiet of the room. “I very much prefer colder rooms, and don’t particularly like the heat. If I leave a room, I’ll turn the thermostat back up of course, but I prefer the cold,” she admits.

Lup is the next to speak. “and also, there’s more than one living room area. I’m sure there’s like, two. If anything we can just keep one hot and the other cold. I get that one is bigger than the other, but this isn’t exactly rocket science. That part of this is already over-“ “Done-zo.” “Thank you, Taako. Yeah, this ship has finished sailing. We don’t need to spend two hours on it,” Lup finishes.

Captain Davenport nods. “Fair enough. I just wanted to be sure everybody had a chance to talk about it. Next on the agenda is medication. If anybody is taking anything, do not feel the need to talk about it if you don’t feel comfortable. Just know that we have a year and a half supply of the medications of those that have them prescribed. If you have medication that you didn’t bring up beforehand, please tell me after the meeting and we’ll make sure you have a supply with you. We also have plenty of fantasy asprin, and things of that sort. Basic first aid kids, though we will surely be fine with our cleric onboard,” Davenport comments. Merle beams at that, quite proud of his connection with Pan.

Lup raises her hand, but does it more to grab attention rather than to ask permission of any kind. “Unrelated to the medication thing, me and Taking are still in charge of all the food stuff for the mission. Like, make sure you guys let us know if you have any allergies so you don’t drop dead on us or whatever,” she starts. Taako continues where she left off. “Yeah, we really don’t need any of you needs conking out on us because you didn’t tell me you were allergic to peanut butter. I’m talking to you, Blue Jeans over there,” Taako points out. Barry frowns a little. Taako just keeps talking. “Last think we need is beefcake over there losing himself over an actual beefcake,” he says, motioning over to Magnus. Magnus seems to find this pretty funny, despite being called out.

Lup continues talking for Taako, which the twins are prone to doing. “Also tell us if you just flat out hate something. Even if it’s stupid. Because nothing sucks more than taking time to make something and finding out that somebody hates garlic or whatever.”

Taako lets out a small laugh, at that. “Yeah, and if you don’t tell us you hate something, that’s on you. If you didn’t tell me that carrots make you gassy or whatever, that’s your own mess to deal with. But if you tell me you don’t like something, and I like, forget or whatever, then that’s on Taako. I’ll make it up to you and make you something else to eat. So make sure you tell us, because otherwise that’s just on you. Lup is gonna help cook, but that’s more of my thing usually. Just make sure we both know about it. Write it down and junk,” he finishes.

Magnus chimes in this time. “I know you were joking, but I really do hate carrots. I won’t eat them. Also, and I know this is unrelated, but if I’m super cozy somewhere I might just fall asleep wherever I happen to be. So if I’m in the living room and fall asleep or something, it’s fine. Please don’t wake me up because you’re worried my bed is more comfortable or something. Do wake me up if there’s snacks, though. Or if you see something like, worthy of attention,” he starts. He pauses only briefly before continuing to ramble. “It’s also fine to wake me up if like, you want to a hug. That’s always an acceptable excuse. Just, y'know, stuff worthy of being awake for. You could be interrupting a super cool dream where I’m a secret agent or something,” he adds, thoughtfully.

Barry Bluejeans seems a bit sheepish. “If I fall asleep, on the other hand, please do wake me up. I tend to snore, and it’s kinda loud, so I don’t mind going back to my room if it’s kind of annoying. Like, I get it,” he admits.

MerleMerle stands a little taller. “If anybody has trouble sleeping, I can help with that. As a cleric, I mean,” he starts. He looks over at the twins, specifically. “If anybody needs help getting a good nap, I’m your guy.”

Lup, noting this, talks right when Taking opens his mouth to say the same thing she does. “Elves meditate, sweetheart. We don’t need to sleep. Meditation only takes maybe four hours or so and gives us the same amount of sleep as say, Burnsides over here.”

Taako, surprisingly, hesitates for a moment. “I mean, Lup is better at Meditating than I am. If one of us have been staying up for longer than a day or two, then we’ll still just get sleepy and tired and actually fall asleep like any of you would. Neither of us sleep very often, but I mean, it happens. We’re going to be on the ship for like, a full year, so you’ll probably catch me sleeping once or twice.”

Lup replies. “Also, if you see me sleeping, you can leave me be. I’ll be fine. But if you see Taking sleeping, just wake him up the second it happens. If you see me sleeping and for some reason think that I’m Taako, I won’t mind if you wake me up. Just make sure he isn’t sleeping in the living room or outside of his room,” she adds. Taako wordlessly nods.

Reasonably confused by those statements, Lucretia works up the nerve to speak. “Why is it that it’s alright for you to sleep outside of your room, but not Taako? I don’t mean to pry, but it seems important.” The other five chime in affirmatively, before Taking or Lup can change the subject around.  
Taako answers honestly. “So, I mean, you guys are probably going to figure this out eventually, but I get Night Terrors. And I mean, me and Lup both talk in our sleep. Like, a lot. You’re absolutely going to know if we’re meditating or sleeping, because meditation is silent. Meanwhile, our sleeping kind of looks like we’re possessed. Now, Lup doesn’t get these, but I get night terrors pretty bad. It’s worse when I’m not in my own bed. And I mean, you’ll see what I mean if they happen, and it probably won’t for a long time, but they get pretty wild,” he explains. It’s an answer, sure, but it gives absolutely no specifics as to what type of night terrors Taako is referring to. There’s no giveaway to what the events are like, but there’s the knowledge that they exist.

Magnus, seeing the two acting increasingly uncomfortable, opens his mouth to change the subject. The beginning of a sentence gets cut off by Barry Bluejeans, however.

“I don’t get night terrors, but I do get some nasty nightmares sometimes. If I do, I’ll probably sleep really late into the day. If you try to wake me up but I seem tired, I would advise you to leave me to sleep until like, Dinner. That would be reasonable to be awake for, even if it’s later in the day. Lunch and Breakfast aren’t too bad to skip on a day like that. Similarly, you can’t really... Well, you can’t really predict those kinds of days. Or nights, if we’re being specific. I doubt it will happen often, but if it happens, then it happens.

Lucretia’s voice is still small, but a little louder than before. “Likewise, if I sleep in, I probably outslept my alarm. In that case, please wake me for breakfast. As the one in charge of documenting the events of this trip, I would like to be awake for as many of the events as I can be. Please do not let me sleep in unless I have requested otherwise for health reasons or anything of the sort,” she requests.

Despite the many differences between the many teammates, this conversation continues quite civily. It’s an amazing team full of many different people, but at the open conversation and open body language, Davenport can feel something bright about the people in the room around him.

Pride. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave me comments. They are my lifeline. Also feel free to message Tazblogger on Tumblr! 


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